Sermon Tone Analysis

prayer notes:

greg barg family

chris top

pat miller family

merandia lawhead

roy healing after surgery

NOTE Town Hall Meeting at CUMC about Feed My Starving Children moved to Feb 6 at 4:00 pm because of ballgame.

Two weeks ago I suggest three requirements for a real faith.

Have Belief

Have Belief plus Action.

Have Belief plus Action plus Witness

Last week

How to tame your tongue

realize our accountability

realize our vulnerability

realize our power for good

realize our power for harm

Take your Bibles.

Lift them high and repeat after me.

This is my Bible.

It is word of God.

I will hind its words in my heart, that I might not sin against God.

13 Who is wise and understanding among you?

Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth.

15 Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

16 For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice.

17 But the wisdom that comes from heavena is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercyc and good fruit, impartial and sincere.d

18 Peacemakerse who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.

Introduction

Every day you encounter many different kinds of people.

Some are very delightful.

Some are very difficult.

Some of them are inspiring.

Some of them are irritating, fascinating, intimidating.

The fact is, a lot of the problems we have in life are because of personality conflicts.

We don't get along with people.

When your relationships are bad, life stinks.

Life is miserable.

You may have lots of money and lots of opportunities but if your relationships are bad, you're miserable.

It's very important that we learn how to get along with other people.

Wisdom.

We need to learn how to be wise in the way we act toward people.

Often we treat people in very foolish ways and we provoke the exact opposite behavior of what we would normally like to see in them.

Common sense is not so common.

A lot of smart people are not too wise.

They may be educated but they don't have wisdom.

So what is wisdom: And wisdom, remind yourself, does not mean knowledge.

It does not mean information.

It means the application of knowledge with divine power to the reshaping of life, transforming attitudes, transforming behavior into righteousness.

Wisdom then is not what I know, wisdom is how I live.

And so how I live according to the wisdom of God is a barometer on my spiritual condition.

James suggest four behaviors that will help us grow in wisdom.

Body

If I am wise I will not Be Harsh

gentleness of attitude and behavior, in contrast with harshness in one’s dealings with others

Illustration: C. S. Lewis, who, with his writings continues to inspire many Christian believers, struggled to overcome the imprint left by his father, a harsh man who would quote Cicero to his children when scolding them.

When his mother died, Lewis said, it felt as if Atlantis had broken off and left him stranded on a tiny island.

After studying at a public school led by a cruel headmaster who was later certified insane and committed to an institution, Lewis had to overcome the impact of these male figures to find a way to love God.

(2)

Some of us can relate to that.

Some of us are unable to fully accept God’s unconditional love because we have never before experienced that kind of love, even at home.

Believe me when I say that the one constant in this world is that God loves you.

Even if your current circumstances are not all that great, do not let go of that truth: God loves you.

When I am abrasive, I am not persuasive

If I am wise I will not Be Selfish

Illustrations:

According to the New York Times, in the summer of 1994, a Virginia state trooper, who was a member of the bomb squad, and his dog, Master Blaster, became local celebrities when they found bombs at malls in Hampton and Virginia Beach.

That bit of celebrity evidently went to the state trooper’s head.

A hidden camera later recorded him placing a bomb in a shed that he had been asked to search for explosives.

He was arrested and later pled guilty to planting explosives at two malls, a courthouse, and a coliseum.

He told investigators he had not intended to hurt anyone.

The bombs—a cardboard tube filled with explosives, and pipes filled with gunpowder and nails—never exploded.

He said he was simply trying to enhance his image.

Michael Avenoty

Selfish ambition is one of the most powerful—and potentially destructive—motivations we can have.

When we are in the grips of selfish ambition, we can rationalize almost anything.

When I am abrasive, I am not persuasive

If I am wise I will be Transparent

Pure means uncorrupted, authentic.

In 1 John 3:3 this word is used to refer to Christ's character.

Integrity.

If I'm really genuine, if I'm wise, I'm not going to lie to you, I'm not going to cheat you, I'm not going to manipulate you, I'm not going to be deceitful.

I'll be a person of integrity.

When I am abrasive, I am not persuasive

If I am wise I will Be Considerate of Your Feelings

When I am abrasive, I am never persuasive

answers: Harsh, Selfish, Transparent, Considerate of Your Feelings